Wagon unloading mechanism



May 16, 1951 P. R. JOHNSTON WAGON UNLOADING MECHANISM Original FiledJuly 26, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 flnwnkov Philip 4?. Johnsl'on b fiom/ 72J W WAGON UNLOADING MECHANISM Original Filed July 26, 1957 2Sheets-Sheet 2 flnvemort @hilip Q. Jo hnslon WV? Ab M 7).

J P0 g United States Continuation of application Ser. No. 674,432, July26, 1957. This application Mar. 27, 1959, Ser. No. 802,568

1 Claim. (Cl. 214-64) This invention is a continuation of my applicationfor United States Letters Patent on a Wagon Unloading Mechanism, SerialNo. 674,432, filed July 26, 1957, now abandoned, and relates to wagonunloading equipment and more particularly to wagon unloading equipmentwhich can be operated by the prime mover of the wagon itself.

The unloading of the farm wagon during harvesting season has always beena very realistic problem to the farmer. Today, many hydraulic ormechanical jacks have been made available to the farmer to help himraise the front end of the wagon so that the crop contained therein canbe more easily removed from the rearward end of the wagon. Elevatorshave also been employed to receive and transfer the crop as it isremoved from the wagon. However, these jack and elevator devices havenot solved all of the wagon unloading problems even though they havegreatly alleviated the situation. This is because the jacks andelevators must have a source of power from which to operate, and it isthe providing of this source of power that makes the jacks and elevatorsknown to be somewhat of a nuisance, despite their important function.Most farmers pull their loaded wagons to the unloading point with atractor unit, and then the tractor must be disengaged from the wagon andconnected to the jack and/or elevator units to effect the wagonunloading. If the prime mover of the wagon is not so employed, aseparate motor or tractor must be standing by to operate the Wagonunloading equipment. It is obvious that much time is consumed when theoperator of the wagon-pulling tractor must depart from his prime moverand operate the additional power equipment to effect the unloading ofthe wagon. It is also obvious that the presence of the standing by powerequipment is a great source of extra expense.

Therefore, the principal object of my invention is to provide a wagonunloading mechanism that can be completely powered by the prime mover ofthe wagon.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a wagon unloadingmechanism that can be powered by the prime mover of the wagon withoutaltering the mechanical relationship of the wagon and prime mover.

It is a still further object of my invention to provide a wagonunloading mechanism that can be completely powered by the prime mover ofthe wagon without endangering the operator of the prime mover.

It is a still further object of my invention to provide a wagonunloading mechanism that can be completely powered by the prime mover ofthe wagon at the instantaneous will of the prime mover operator.

It is a still further object of my invention to provide a wagonunloading mechanism that is durable in use, refined in appearance andeconomical of manufacture.

These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangements, andcombination, of the various parts of the device, whereby the objectscontemplated are attained as hereinafter more fully set forth,specifically pointed out in my atent C ice claim, and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my device without the Wagon and primemover being present;

Fig. 2 is an elevational view of my hydraulic jack unit;

Fig. 3 is a partial sectional view of my device taken on line 3-3 ofFig. 4, and shows the detailed construction of my rolls, brake andrelated structure;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of my device taken on line 4--4 of Fig. 3 andfurther shows the details of my rolls, brake and related structure;

Fig. 5 is an elevational view of the retractable platform wheelassembly; and

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view of a wagon and tractor on my devicewith the wagon being in its unloading position.

I have used the numeral 10 to generally designate my platform areahaving inclined front and rear end portions 12 and 14, respectively, andvertical side portions 16 and 18. A beam 20 can be secured within theplatform it} in any convenient manner and can generally bisect theplatform along the longitudinal axis of the platform. A plurality ofrolls 22 can be rigidly secured to shafts 24 which extend between andare rotatably mounted on beam 28 and platform side portion 16. As shownin Fig. 1, these rolls 22 are positioned substantially parallel to thefront end platform portion 12. The rearmost roll 26 is similar to rolls22 but it is mounted on shaft 28 which extends through platform side 16,beam 28, and platform side 18. The extension of shaft 28 from beam 28 toside 18 is shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1. Shaft 28 is positionedparallel and in the same spaced relation as are shafts 24. The platform18 is cut away at a point just above rolls 22 and roll 26 and the topsof these rolls are permitted to dwell in the same substantial horizontalplane as platform 10.

Gear members 30 are rigidly secured to the ends of shafts 24 and shaft28 at a point just outside the side 16 of platform 10. As shown in Fig.4, stub shafts 32 project outward from the side 16 and are positionedmidway between the projecting shafts 24 and projecting shaft 28. Gearmembers 34 are rigidly secured to each of these stub shafts 32 and gears34 are adapted to mesh with the adjacent gears 30* to mechanicallyconnect the rolls 22 and roll 26 together.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 4, shaft 28 of roll 26 extends even beyond itsgear 30 and bevel gear 36 is rigidly secured thereto in any convenientmanner. A housing 38 is connected to platform 10 and extends completelyover the gears 30 and 34, and housing 40 surrounds bevel gear 36, asshown in Fig. 4. A bearing member 42 r0- tatably supports shaft 28 as itprojects from housing 38 into housing 40. A hydraulic pump 44 having adrive shaft 46 can be operatively connected to shaft 28, as shown inFig. 4. In this figure the hydraulic pump drive shaft 46 extends intohousing 48 and a bevel gear 48 is rigidly secured to the end of thedrive shaft and is adapted to mesh with the bevel gear 36 on shaft 28.The housing 41 shown in Fig. 1 at the end of shaft 28 opposite tohousing 40 encloses a second bevel gear 43 which is identical to bevelgear 36. It may be assumed that bevel gear 43 and housing 41 areidentical to bevel gear 36 and housing 46 in their relation to shaft 28.

One of the shafts 24 can have a shaft extension 50 thereon which canhave its outer end rotatably mounted in housing 38. This arrangement isshown. in Figs. 1, 3 and 4. Shaft extension 50 can have a circular drummember 52 rigidly secured thereon. A bearing member 54 can be locatedadjacent a slot opening 56in the top of housing 38. The bearing member54 is preferably located inside housing 38 and a ratchet member 58having teeth 60 is rigidly secured to the top of housing 38 adjacentslot opening 56. A conventional ratchet lever 62 is pivoted withinbearing member 54 by pin 63 and is allowed to have its lower end extenddownwardly into housing 38. A rod 65 and handle 67 are secured toratchet lever 62 in any manner to perform the conventional function ofengaging the teeth 60 of ratchet member 58 to selectively hold ratchetlever 62 in a predetermined position. A flexible brake band 64 issecured by one of its ends to the lower end of ratchet lever 62 as shownin Fig. 3, and this brake band extends around drum member 52 on shaftextension 50 and is then rigid- 1y secured in any convenient manner byits other end to the top of housing 38. Brake band 64 is of such lengththat when the ratchet lever 62 is in the position of the solid lines inFig. 3, the band will loosely engage drum 52. The position of the lever62, shown by the dotted lines of Fig. 3 will bring band 64 intofrictional engagement with drum 52.

A bumper element 66 is pivotally secured to the forward edge of platformby pins 68. An arm 70 is rigidly secured to one end of bumper 66 andextends forwardly and downwardly therefrom. Housing 38 has an opening 72in its forward end and linkage member 74 extends therethrough and ispivoted by its ends to the lower end of lever 62 and to the outer end ofarm 70. As shown by the solid lines in Fig. 3, the bumper 66 is held ina vertical position by arm 76 and linkage member 74 whenever the lever62 is in the position of the solid lines. The movement of lever 62 tothe position of the dotted lines in Fig. 3 will permit bumper 66 torotate rearwardly and assume the same horizontal plane as platform 10.

A guide bar 76 can be secured in any convenient manner to beam for areason to be seen hereafter. L- shaped wheel brackets 78 are pivoted tothe sides 16 and 18 of platform 10 by pins 81 As shown in Fig. 5, theL-shaped brackets 78 are pivoted to the platform at a pointsubstantially at the midpoint of the brackets. A wheel member 82 isrotatably secured to one end of the brackets 78 and a hole 84 is locatedin the opposite end of each bracket. A nut and bolt assembly 36 can beinserted through hole 84 to selectively hold the bracket 78 in a fixedposition with respect to platform 16, as shown in Fig. 3. An eyelet 88can be secured to the front end 12 of platform 10 to be used in towingthe platform from place to place.

Vertical stub shafts 20 are rigidly secured to the top of platform 10adjacent sides 16 and 18 at a point rearwardly of roll 26. A hydraulicjack cylinder 92 has a hollow bottom portion 94 which is adapted to beremovably rotatably mounted on either of the stub shafts 20. I haveshown hydraulic jack cylinder 92 to be double-acting and having parts 96and 98 located at its opposite ends. Hydraulic conduits 100 and 162detachably connect parts 96 and 98, respectively, to hydraulic pump 44.A piston rod 164 is adapted to move through the upper end of hydrauliccylinder jack 92, and a clevis bracket 106 is rigidly secured to theupper end of piston rod 104. A pulley wheel 108 is rotatably mountedwithin clevis bracket 166 by pin 116. A horizontal arm 1.12 is rigidlysecured to the upper portion of hydraulic cylinder jack 92 and adiagonal brace 114 extends from the lower portion 94 of the cylinder tothe outer end of the arm. Pulley wheel 116 is secured to the top of arm112 adjacent hydraulic cylinder 92 and pulley Wheel 1153 is similarlypositioned on the outward end of the arm. A cable 126 is secured tohydraulic cylinder 92 by pin 122 and is then threaded up over pulleywheel 108, thence down under pulley wheel 116 and thence up over pulleywheel 118. As shown in Fig. 2, a hook member 124 can be tied in anyconvenient manner to the end of cable 120 that extends up over pulleywheel 118.

Fig. 1 shows that drive shaft 46 of hydraulic pump 44 extends completelythrough the pump and is thereupon secured to shaft 126 by universalconnection 128. Shaft 126 is thereupon connected to shaft 130 ofelevator gear box 132 by universal connection 133. Elevator gear box 132is mechanically secured to the conventional elevator unit 134 and to theconventional folding elevator section 136. The elevator section 136 iscapable of being folded upwardly onto elevator unit 134 but since thespecific structure of these elevator units does not comprise a part ofmy invention, their specific structural details have not been shown.

Fig. 6 shows a tractor unit 138 with rear Wheels 140 and drawbar 142. Afarm wagon 144 with chassis 146, rear wheels 148, front wheels 150,tiltable wagon box 152, and tongue member 154, is secured to the drawbar142 of tractor 138 by a pin 156 which joins the wagon tongue and tractordrawbar in conventional fashion. The wagon box 152 is shown to bepivoted to the rear end of chassis 146 as are most modern farm wagons.

Having described the detailed structure of my device, I shall nowdescribe its normal operation. The elevator section 136 is folded overupon elevator section 134 so as to provide the tractor 138 and wagon 144clear access to the rear end 14 of platform 10. The arm 112 on hydrauliccylinder jack 92 is rotated to assume a position parallel to the sidesof patform 10. The ratchet lever 62 is moved to the position shown bythe dotted lines in Fig. 3. With the ratchet lever 62 in this position,brake band 64 will exert pressure on drum 52 and will thereupon act toprevent the rotation of shaft extension 50 and the roll shaft 24 towhich it is secured. Since all of the roll shafts 24 and roll shaft 28are mechanically connected by gears 30 and 34, the braking effect ofdrum 52 on its particular roll shaft 24 will prevent any of the rolls 22or roll 26 from being rotated.

The tractor 138 is then driven onto the rear end 14 of platform 10 to apoint where one of the rear wheels of the tractor rests entirely on therolls 26 or 22 and the front wheels of the wagon rest on platform 10.The position of the tractor and wagon is best determined by stopping thetractor when the front end of the wagon box 152 becomes aligned withvertical stub shafts 90. Obviously, if one rear wheel 140 of tractor 138rests on the rolls 22 or 26, the other rear wheel must rest on top ofplatform 10 at a point not on these rolls. After the tractor 138 andwagon 144 have been so positioned, the ratchet lever 62 is moved to theposition shown by the solid lines in Fig. 3. This releases thefrictional hold of brake band 64 upon drum 52 and leaves the rolls 22and 26 free to be rotated. As lever 62 releases brake band 64, bumper 66is elevated to a somewhat vertical position, as shown in Figs. 1, 3 and6.

The hydraulic jack cylinder 92 is then rotated so that arm 112 extendsout in front of wagon box 152 and hook 124 is capable of engaging thefront end of the wagon box. The position of the cable 129 on the jack 92is substantially as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 at this time. The foldingelevator section 136 is thereupon rotated downwardly to assume aposition underneath the rear end of wagon box 152.

The operator thereupon sets the brake on the rear wheel of his tractorthat rests on top of platform 10. The tractor is then placed in gear andthe rear wheel 146 which is resting on rolls 22 or roll 26 begins torotate. Since the rolls 22 and 26 are free to be rotated, the rotatingtractor wheel 146 does not move the tractor. As was stated above, therolls 22 and roll 26 are mechanically connected by gears 30 and 34 and,since only a single gear 34 is between the gears 30 on the respectiverolls, all of the rolls will necessarily have to rotate in the samedirection. Thus, it makes no difference which rolls support the tractorwheel 140.

The resulting rotation of shaft 28 by roll 26 will permit bevel gear 36to act upon bevel gear 48 to rotate the drive shaft of hydraulic pump44. The conduits and 102 on the hydraulic pump 44 can be arranged sothat, for example, a forward rotation of the tractor wheel 140 willeffect a flow of hydraulic fluid in pump 44 to raise piston rod 104upward out of hydraulic cylinder 92. As the piston rod 104 movesupwardly, the cable 120 will also move upwardly to raise the hook 124and the forward end of the wagon box 152. At the same time that thehydraulic pump 44 begins to operate, the drive shaft 46 of the pump willstart to rotate shaft 126 to operate the elevator units 134 and 136.

When the Wagon box 152 has been tilted to a sufficient angle todischarge the crop into elevator unit 136, the operator may then stopthe rotation of tractor wheel 140 and the tilting of the Wagon box willimmediately cease. The direction of rotation of tractor wheel 140 canthereupon be reversed which will reverse the direction of rotation ofrolls 22 and roll 26 and will subsequently lower the piston rod 104 ofhydraulic jack 92. It should be definitely understood that various typesof hydraulic jacks could be successfully used with my device and that asingle-acting hydraulic jack could be used which would eliminate theneed for reversing the direction of rotation of the tractor wheel tolower the jack. Furthermore, many conventional hydraulic jacks with amanual by-pass valve could be beneficially used with my device to permitthe elevator units 134 and 136 to continue functioning without the driveshaft 46 of hydraulic pump 44 continuing to raise the piston rod 164 ofthe jack 92.

When the wagon box 152 has been emptied and lowered to its normalposition, the tractor wheel 140 is stopped from rotating and the ratchetlever 62 is once again moved to the position shown by the dotted linesin Fig. 3 to lock the rolls 22 and 26 against rotation. Bumper 66 isalso moved to a horizontal position by this action. Hydraulic jack 92 isrotated on stub post 90 so that arm 112 is parallel to the sides ofplatform and the tractor 138 is then free to pull the wagon 144 from theplatform. Unless the rolls 22 and 26 were first locked against rotationby lever 62, tractor 138 would still be unable to move from theplatform.

The function of the guide bar 76 and bumper 66 are to keep the tractor138 under control and on the platform if the rolls 22 or 26 ever becomejammed while the Wheel 140 is rotating to operate the device.

It is apparent that the hydraulic pump 44 can be operated from eitherend of shaft 28 and that hydraulic jack cylinder 92 could be located ateither side of platform 10 by being mounted on either of the stub shafts90. The connection of the shaft 28 to the hydraulic pump drive shaft 46is only one way this could be accomplished and many other arrangementscould be made such as operating the hydraulic pump 44 at one end ofshaft 28 and connecting elevator drive shaft 126 to the other end ofshaft 28.

My platform 10 is made completely portable for by moving the L-shapedwheel brackets 78 to the position shown in Fig. 5 and securing thebrackets in this position by nut and bolt assemblies 86, the platform israised from the ground surface and supported by Wheels 82.

It should also be noted that by making the platform of such length thatthe rear wheels 148 of the wagon 144 do not rest on the platform duringthe unloading operation, the front Wheels 150 are necessarily elevatedand the hydraulic jack 92 has less elevating of the wagon box 152 toaccomplish.

Therefore, it is seen that my invention will accomplish at least all ofits stated objectives.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of my wagonunloading mechanism without departing from the real spirit and purposeof my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claim, anymodified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which maybe reasonably included Within their scope.

I claim:

In a wagon unloading mechanism, a horizontal platform, a plurality ofelongated rolls rotatably mounted on said platform, said elongated rollsbeing positioned parallel to each other and having their top portionsdwelling in substantially the same horizontal plane as the top of saidplatform, the top of said platform presenting a clear pathway so as toaccommodate vehicles having different wheel widths, a jack membersecured to said platform, brake means operatively secured to saidelongated rolls for selectively holding them against rotation, acollapsible bumper element pivoted to the front end of said platform andoperatively connected to said brake means to project from said platformwhenever said brake means releases said elongated rolls for rotation,and means operatively connecting said elongated rolls with said jackmember so that the rotation of said elongated rolls will actuate saidjack member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,161,982 Scheidler Nov. 30, 1915 1,275,450 Leprevost Aug. 13, 19181,444,704 Petteys Feb. 6, 1923 1,879,607 Fitch Sept. 27, 1932 2,042,573Wood et al June 2, 1936 2,538,517 Hayden Jan. 16, 1951 2,796,952 BrumbyJune 25, 1957 2,797,006 Thompson June 25, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 157,733Australia Jan. 14, 1954 379,122 Great Britain Aug. 25, 1932 614,125Great Britain Dec. 9, 1948 885,429 France Sept. 14, 1952

